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Purse Increase, Dates Added at Monmouth

Officials at Monmouth Park have announced an across-the-board increase in purses to begin on TVG.com Haskell S. day July 17 and have added three live September dates on Fridays to the calendar.

“We're thankful to Gov. Philip Murphy and to the leadership in the state Senate and Assembly who continue to support racing in New Jersey,” said Dennis Drazin, the Chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, the operators of Monmouth Park. “A supplemental appropriation was passed and signed into law, and with rain preventing us from writing more races during the early stages of the meet, we have $5.5 million to spend on purses to support the Monmouth Park product as a result.

“We believe it was important to make the announcement at this time, so horsemen can plan for the balance of the meet. We feel these increases will further strengthen what is already a quality product.”

A 20% increase will be applied to all maiden special weight and allowance races, while claiming races run for $12,500 tags or higher will see a prize money increase of 10%. The purses for lower-level claimers will be raised by 5%. Open stakes races that are currently listed at $75,000 will be contested for $100,000, while state-bred stakes will run for $85,000, up from $75,000.

Other stakes races will receive more significant bumps. According to the release, the Sept. 26 Nownownow S. for 2-year-olds at a mile on the turf, will see the largest boost from $150,000 to $500,000. The race in named in honor of the winner of the inaugural Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf held at Monmouth in 2007 and will serve as a stepping-stone to this year's race at Del Mar Nov. 5.

The Sapling S. (Sept. 5) and Sorority S. (Sept. 6.), for 2-year-old males and females, respectively, see their purses doubled to $200,000, while the GIII Monmouth Oaks and GIII Iselin S. are each to be raised by $50,000 to $250,000.

Monmouth's original schedule called for weekend racing only during the month of September, but the track will now hold live programs Friday-Sunday and will conduct live racing on Labor Day, Sept. 6.

Officials also announced that after a one-year hiatus owing to the coronavirus, the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet will return in 2021. Nine all-turf programs will also see significant purse increases. That schedule will be announced at a later date.

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New Jersey: Fixed-Odds Wagering Bill Headed To Governor’s Desk

Both the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly unanimously passed legislation to legalize fixed-odds wagering, and the bill will now head to Gov. Phil Murphy, who is expected to sign it, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

Australian firm BetMakers has secured an exclusive 10-year agreement with New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen Association and Darby Development LLC., the operator of Monmouth Park racetrack, to deliver and manage fixed-odds wagering on Thoroughbred racing in New Jersey. BetMakers expects fixed-odds wagering be operational in time for Haskell Day on July 17.

Takeout on the fixed-odds wagers will 12.5 percent.

BetMakers' head of international operations Dallas Baker said the company hopes to see fixed-odds wagering revitalize the horse racing industry in the United States, increasing both handle and purse accounts, as it has done in Australia.

“Our ultimate goal is to have what happened in Australia over the last 10 years or so and after online betting was deregulated happen here,” Baker told the TDN. “In that time, the handle has doubled and purse money doubled as well. That's what we want to see here, too. The opportunity exists in the U.S. to have that happen here and on a quicker time line than 10 years.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Monmouth Handle Down; Are Whips To Blame?

Because of the pandemic in 2020, six-race cards on Fridays and a run of rainy weather to start this year's meet, apples-to-apples, year-over-year handle comparisons aren't easy to come by at Monmouth. But all indications are that the Jersey Shore track has gotten off to a poor start, and that raises an important question–are bettors staying away because of the new rules that prohibit whipping?

Sunday's card was the first of the meet where all the scheduled races were run on the turf and there was not an abundance of scratches. Despite those favorable conditions, Monmouth handled only $3,333,043 Sunday. There were 11 races and 86 betting interests. Because of COVID-19, there was no racing on that date in 2020. In 2019, $4,317,739 was wagered on a 12-race card that consisted of 94 betting interests. Based on the raw, all-sources total handle for the days, handle in 2021 was off by 22.8% from 2019. Per-race betting fell from $359,811 in 2019 to $303,003 this year, a difference of 15.8%.

“I'm betting a little bit less on Monmouth, about 25% less than normal,” said Jersey-based horseplayer Philip Miller. “There are a number of factors. There have been small fields and the jockey colony isn't great, though it got better once Paco [Lopez] started riding. But, yes, the whips have something to do with it. Everybody is trying to go to the front because they think closers are at a disadvantage without the whip. I don't like that. There are some horses that have a good turn of foot and they don't need the whip. But there are others that really need to be ridden hard and they aren't going to run as well without the whip.”

Dennis Drazin, who heads the management company that operates the track, said it was too early to reach any conclusions regarding how the whip ban may be affecting handle.

“I think the handle numbers were mainly a reflection of the weather,” he said in an email. “Too much rain. Inability to utilize the turf. It's premature to discuss to what extent the new whip rule may effect handle.”

Sunday's numbers continued a troubling pattern for Monmouth, which has struggled throughout the meet to keep up with past years when it comes to handle.

On the second day of the meet and the first day of the long Memorial Day weekend, Monmouth handled $2,941,677 on a 12-race card. On the same date in 2019, $5,891,308 was bet on a 13-race card. While the races were washed off the turf throughout the first week of Monmouth racing this year, it seems like a stretch to suggest that the lack of grass racing and a few small fields were solely responsible for a decline in handle of nearly $3 million.

On the following day, a Sunday, $2,645,700 was wagered on an 11-race card, $1,278,795 less than what was bet on the same date in 2019. On Memorial Day, Monmouth ran nine races and handled $2,434,241. On the Memorial Day 2019 card, there were 12 races and a handle of $3,628,955.

As was the case during the opening week, the Monmouth races were dominated by favorites. Fifteen of the 28 races run last weekend were won by the favorites and, for the meet, favorites are 29-for-55 (50.8%).

Veteran Jose C. Ferrer leads all riders with nine wins, but his lead probably won't hold up for long. Paco Lopez made his first Monmouth appearance of the year on Saturday and has already won six races from 17 mounts. Joe Bravo, who has won 13 Monmouth riding titles, has refused to ride at the meet because of the whip issue and has said that he will ride at the upcoming Del Mar meet.

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Fixed Odds Wagering At Monmouth Moves One Step Closer To Reality

Fixed Odds wagering moved a step closer to becoming a reality during the upcoming Monmouth Park Thoroughbred meet after the New Jersey State Assembly approved a bill on Thursday by a 74-0-1 vote that would permit the new betting platform.

The bill now moves onto to the State Senate and if successful would then go to Gov. Phil Murphy for a signature.

Monmouth Park's 76th season gets underway on Friday, May 28.

“This is an exciting new wagering opportunity for our fans and we're grateful for the support from our legislators and Governor Murphy, who continue to ensure the success of Thoroughbred racing in the state,” said Dennis Drazin, CEO and Chairman of Darby Development, LLC, the operators of Monmouth Park. “Our hope is that we can be up and running with Fixed Odds wagering in time for the TVG.com Haskell Stakes on July 17 — or sooner if possible.”

The bill was sponsored by Assemblymen Ralph Caputo and Ronald Dancer.

The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by State Senators Vin Gopal and Paul Sarlo and is co-sponsored by State Senators Steven Oroho and Declan O'Scanlon, Jr.

The bill has also been supported throughout the legislative process by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney.

Fixed Odds wagering allows bettors to retain the odds at the time of their bet, as opposed to pari-mutuel wagering, where odds are not finalized until betting is completed.

The wager has proven to be extremely popular in Australia and Europe. Monmouth Park would become the first track in the United States to offer the wager.

Australia-based BetMakers Technology Group would deliver and manage Fixed Odds wagering at Monmouth Park after entering into an exclusive 10-year agreement with New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Darby Development, LLC, last year.

Though odds will continue to change as usual as the pari-mutuel pools dictate, bettors have the option of locking into odds at the time of their bet under Fixed Odds wagering.

Monmouth Park's 53-day meet kicks off with four straight days of live racing from Friday through Monday over the Memorial Day weekend May 28-31. Post time on Fridays is 5 p.m. Post time on Saturdays, Sundays and Monday holidays is 12:15 p.m.

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